Garment hanger



June 23, 1959 H. SHROM GARMENT HANGER Filed May 20, 1957 :mv wroR United, States Patent GARMENT HANGER Harry Shrom, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Application May 20, 1957, Serial No. 660,152

7 Claims. (Cl. 223-93) This invention relates to a garment hanger and particularly to a hanger for ladies dresses and skirts.

It is an object of the invention to provide a hanger which can properly and securely support dresses having very wide and/or deep neck openings.

A further object is to provide a hanger which can properly and securely support skirts or strapless dresses having hanging loops.

Another object is to provide a hanger which is readily adjustable in order that it may be adapted to the support of garments having widely varying shapes, particularly in their upper parts.

A further object is to provide a hanger having the foregoing desirable characteristics which can be made easily and inexpensively. I

Another object is to provide certain improvements in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts by which the above-named and other objects may etfectively be attained.

At the present time there is not on the market any satisfactory and inexpensive dress hanger, suitable for mass production and for use by dress manufacturers and in womens clothing stores, as well'as for home use. Wherever many (or a few) dresses are racked up and subjected to handling, as for applying tags or merely for shopping, there is constant danger that some of-them will fall to the floor, becoming mussed and dirty. Additionally, dresses with wide neck lines, strapless dresses, and certain skirts can easily lose their proper shape if not adequately supported at as many points as possible. The present invention is directed to the efiective solution of these problems.

Practical embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 represents a side view of the hanger;

Fig. 2 represents a horizontal section, taken on the line IIl1 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 represents a side view of a modified form of hanger;

Fig. 4 represents a side view of a simpler modified form, in use to support a dress;

Fig. 5 represents a detail side view, with parts broken away and in section, of a modified hook adjusting means;

Fig. 6 represents a horizontal section, taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 represents a side view of the hanger of Fig. 1, in use to support a dress, and

Fig. 8 represents a side view of the hanger of Fig. l, in use to support a skirt.

Referring to the drawings, the hanger is shown as comprising an arched wooden or plastic bar 1, of customary dimensions, provided at its center with a vertical hole 2 large enough for the free passage of the elongated straight stem 3 on the top of which the hook 4 is formed. Spaced from the hole 2 on either side are the slightly enlarged or widened holes 5, 5. A clip bracket 6 of oval or rounded shape (including kidney shape) and conveniently formed from heavy wire has its ends connected to upwardly extending wire posts 7, 7, passing through the holes 5, 5. The posts 7, 7 are integral with a horizontal link portion 8 at the top which link portion is looped at its center around the stem 3, and a similar link 9 at the bottom fixes the spacing of the posts at their points of connection to the oval or rounded part of the bracket. The link 9 may be formed as an extension of one or both of the ends of the bracket 6 or may be a separate piece welded or soldered to said ends and to the posts. The lower end of the stem is preferably upset below the loop of the link and distorted suitably above said loop to ensure permanent attachment. The posts 7, 7 are shown as being bent to present a sort of corrugated profile and their spacing is such that they will bear against the sides of the holes 5, 5 with suificient force to maintain the bar 1 (and the garment supported by it) at any level to which the bar may be adjusted. In Fig. l, the bar .1 is shown as being held at a level somewhat below its highest possible position and well above its lowest possible position.

Slidably mounted on the clip bracket 6 are a pair of spring clips 10, 10, which may be of customary design but are preferably shorter on the handle end and provided with wider and/ or longer gripping ends, as indicated. Their gripping surfaces are preferably padded with soft material such as felt or rubber to improve their garmentholding qualities. The clips are not only vslidable to any desired position on the bracket but are rotatable around the bracket wire, so that they can readily. be adjusted to whatever height and direction is bestfor the particular garment to be supported. 7 V

In Fig. 3 there is shown a simpler (and less costly) form of the hanger, in which a clip bracket 11 of wire has its ends bent up to form the posts 12, 12, corresponding to posts 7, 7 of Fig. 1, the ends being long enough to join at 13 and to be twisted together and bent in the form of a hook 14. The posts 12, 12 pass through enlarged holes in the bar 15, so that the same sort of vertical adjustment is possible, and the posts are preferably connected at the bottom by means of a link 11. corresponding to the link 9. The clips 16, 16 are used in the same manner as the clips 10, 10, and would normally be of the same type.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a still simpler modification in which the bar 17 and hook 18 are of customary form, but in which there is added a clip bracket 19, similar to the brackets 6 and 11, fixed to the bar 17 by means of straight posts 20, 20 the upper end of which each pass through the bar twice and are bent over against the bottom of the bar to fix the bracket tightly thereon and to provide a smooth finish both top and bottom. The ends may, alternatively, be connected and shaped to form a loop, as in Fig. 2, preferably also with a suitable deformation below the bar to prevent upward displacement. The hanger of Fig. 4 is shown in use supporting a wide-neck dress, the shoulder parts of which are looped over the bar 17 near its ends and the clips being moved to an upper and outer position so that it is impossible for either shoulder to slip oil the bar.

Vertical adjustments of the parts can be effected by using, instead of the corrugations in the posts, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, projections 21 from the side of the stem 22, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In this case the hole through the bar is provided With a lateral extension 23 and the stem is turned so that the projection 21 will register with, and pass through, said extension of the hole when it is desired to adjust the relative height of the bar and the clip bracket; the projections being turned to any non-registering position in order to prevent relative vertical movement. In addition to the upset at the bottom end of the hook stem there is provided a small lug or other distortion 21' so that the stem will be capable of positively moving the bracket assembly down as well as up with respect to the bar.

Fig. 7 shows how a dress having a wide and low neck opening can be supported neatly on the hanger of Fig. 1. It is Well known that dresses of this type have annoying tendencies to slip from ordinary hangers, and that the plastic hangers with slots or hooks near their ends do not overcome this difl'lculty. With the present hanger, however, the clips can be moved to such positions, vertically and laterally, as to support the dress at selected points along the neck-line and at the same time to prevent the shoulder portions from slipping olf the hanger bar.

Some strapless dresses (as well as skirts) are normally provided with tape loops a few inches long secured inside the dress at opposite points just below the top, these loops being generally used to hang the garment from two spaced hooks on a closet wall. Fig. 8 shows how the hanger of Fig. 1 can be used to support a skirt or strapless dress, giving a 4-point support which holds the garment in much better condition than the two-point support provided by the tape loops alone. In many cases, and particularly when the clips are being used in their upper position (Figs. 4 and 8) the clip bracket 6 or 11 or 19 will extend partially into the garment, thus helping to keep it in proper shape. A kidney shaped bracket (not shown) provides even greater possibilities for adjustment of the clips to various heights and positions, due to the upward recurving of the middle portion.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A garment hanger comprising, a laterally extending arched bar provided with vertical holes, a hanging hook secured thereto, a clip bracket of generally rounded form, vertically extending posts connected to and supporting said bracket, said posts passing slidably through said vertical holes, means for limiting the relative vertical movement of said posts and said bar, and at least one clip slidably and rotatably mounted on said clip bracket.

2. A garment hanger according to claim 1 which includes means for holding said posts releasably in a plu- 4} rality of selected vertical positions with respect to the bar.

3. A garment hanger according to claim 2 in which said holding means comprises corrugations of said posts adapted to cooperate frictionally with the side walls of said holes.

4. A garment hanger according to claim 2 in which the hanging hook has a stern arranged to pass through a noncircular vertical hole in the bar, to be movable vertically with the posts and to be rotatable, the holding means comprising projections from said stem adapted to cooperate with the bar adjacent said noncircular hole.

5. A garment hanger comprising, a laterally extending arched bar provided at its middle portion with a center vertical hole and two adjacent vertical holes, a hanging hook having an elongated stem adapted to pass freely through said center hole, a clip bracket of generally rounded form and provided with parallel vertically extending posts adapted to pass through said adjacent vertical holes, a first horizontal element connecting the upper ends of said posts and said stem above said bar, a second horizontal element connecting the lower ends of said posts and said stem below said bar, a plurality of clips slidably and rotatably mounted on said clip bracket, and means for holding said posts and said stern releasably in a plurality of selected vertical positions with respect to the bar.

6. A garment hanger according to claim 5 in which said holding means comprises corrugations of said posts adapted to cooperate frictionally with the side walls of said adjacent vertical holes.

7. A garment hanger according to claim 5 in which said center vertical hole is non-circular and in which said stem is provided with spaced projections capable of passing through said non-circular hole in one rotatively adjusted position of said stem and incapable of passing therethrough in other adjusted positions thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 454,579 Lamb June 23, 1891 886,042 De Frear Apr. 28, 1908 1,165,575 Davis Dec. 28, 1915 1,716,894 Lindgren June 11, 1929 

